Search form

Accessories

Thanks to the simplicity and pervasiveness of Apple's Homekit technology, the home automation market continues to rapidly expand with a variety of product offerings. Elgato's eve line has been one of the most prolific on the market, ranging from electrical outlets and temperature monitors to smoke alarms and lighting solutions. A recent addition to eve's growing product catalog is the Eve Light Strip (starting at $79.95).

One of my favorite things to look for at the Consumer Electronics Show are items that may not actually be electronic, but help make our use of electronic items better. In this case, the Smartē Mute+ ($24.99) from My Smartē Life does indeed have electronics, but it's designed to give you privacy from the now ubiquitous Amazon Echo Dot and other Echo devices. It's like a cone of silence. You just slip it on top of your Echo device. It fits all versions of Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. You turn it on and it creates its own white noise that effectively mutes the microphones. It works like noise-canceling headphones. It's not just a plastic cap!

I have admired Grovemade's elegant wood, metal, and leather accessories for some time. The company recently sent me the Apple Watch Dock ($50), which works with your own original Apple Watch charging cable. It's basically a base to keep the Apple cable in place, and hidden beneath a thin layer of actual cork. The cork is available in natural or dark. It's thin so the watch can charge through it, but Grovemade warns you to be careful inserting the charger so as not to puncture the cork. Fortunately, the installation process should be something you only do once.

Over the years, I've reviewed the different iterations of Jamstik portable guitars from Zivix so I was interested to see the latest model, the Jamstik 7 Fret Edition ($199.99). when Zivix offered to send a review unit. As with previous models, the Jamstik is lightweight, comfortable to hold and use, and battery powered. The Jamstik 7 Fret Edition lasts for 72 hours using four AA batteries, included, which is a nice touch. It's small, at just 18 inches, but you can buy the Add-On Body to make it more like a full-size guitar, if desired. Since the neck is shorter, the touch-sensitive rubberized buttons can be used to move up or down in both Capo and Octave.

Over a year ago, I wrote about iHome's combination mirror and bluetooth speaker. And that was an update to the previous model, which I reviewed in 2016. Time marches on, and nowadays, any Bluetooth speaker really ought to have Alexa built in, so iHome went ahead and did it! The company sent me the iCVA66 Mirror with Alexa and Bluetooth Speaker ($199.99) to try and I think the company finally has perfected it. You can reenact Snow White and ask your own Magic Mirror who is the fairest of them all. Just be sure to initiate your question with "Alexa!"

It's been a couple years since I have reviewed iOS-centric hardware for musicians. This is because with each major iteration of the iPad, Apple has altered the dock input configuration thereby rendering an entire ecosystem of equipment relying on that connection port obsolete. It was painful to send a stack of old IK Multimedia hardware to the landfill a few years ago when Apple upgraded iPads to use the Lightning connector instead of the original 30-pin dock connector. A similar roundup of older third-party hardware reliant on the Lightning connector will likely happen again late next year if Apple migrates the rest of its future iPad and iPhone devices to USB-C. Given Apple's track record, I have resisted investing much additional effort in third-party hardware dependent on proprietary adapters. That is why Eventide's H9 Max Harmonizer Effects Processor ($699) guitar effects stomp box piqued my interest.

Now that all new Apple iPhone models support the Qi wireless charging standard, tethering an iPhone to a Lightning cable to recharge the battery is no longer necessary. As long as the wireless charging pad is Qi-compliant, simply laying your new iPhone on top of the pad will recharge the battery. With this new capability in place, the question becomes which Qi-compliant charger is worth buying? If aesthetic simplicity is mainly what you're looking for in iPhone accessories, then Just Mobile's AluBase Wireless ($49.95) charger meets this requirement.

If you're like me, you have probably seen and maybe even purchased those rugged, foam-filled shipping crates from Pelican. I use them all the time to ship computer and audio equipment. Well, what if you could have that level of protection for your iPhone? That's the idea behind the Pelican line of iPhone cases. The company sent me the Adventurer Case ($39.99) to try.

I have used and reviewed several items from WITTI Design in the past. The company has a number of clock radios that integrate with smart homes via smart buttons and charge your phone and have attractive colored lights to help you wake up more gradually. Waking up is one thing, but falling and staying asleep is also important, especially since my wife tells me I snore! I was excited to try the DOZZI Natural White Noise Machine ($29.99) when WITTI sent it to me.

If you're like me, you hear the name Mophie and think of its iPhone cases with built-in batteries. So I was intrigued when the company sent me the powerstation PD (starting at $59.95). These are standalone power packs, about the size of a deck of cards, that have both USB-A and USB-C ports. The pack itself is charged via USB-C to USB-C (cable included) but you'll need your own A/C brick or a laptop with a USB-C connector. They also shipped me a USB-C to Lightning cable, so you may want to add one of those, especially because the iPhone will charge much faster when the source is a USB-C device like the Mophie powerstation.

There's a crowded market of Wi-Fi based security cameras, but Reolink has an interesting twist. The company sent me the Reolink Go ($249.99+) with the caveat that I'd have to set it up on a phone plan. That's because the Go model supports 4G LTE-based connectivity instead of Wi-Fi. Fortunately, T-Mobile (and others) have simple micro SIM-based plans for such devices.

Solo sent me the Active Vector Slim iPad Case ($44.99) and it fit my 9.7-inch iPad from 2018 quite well. It is available in two color choices, all black or a gunmetal blue with black accents. I found both to be quite stylish, with a rubbery textured geometric pattern that also helps with grip.

I've reviewed a number of accessories from Nyrius before, so I was excited to see the company's latest item, ORION Home Wireless HD Video Transmitter & Receiver($149.99), had arrived. I liked the previous model, but it used miniUSB and the newer model is microUSB-based, which is a step up. It's also easier to set up; indeed it is set up by default, out of the box. The Orion Home is two boxes that look alike, but one is a transmitter and the other a receiver. They are both similar in size to the Apple TV, but with a perforated top, which probably helps with reception.

I've used a number of charging options from Limitless Innovations, but the latest item they sent, the ChargeHub X5 Elite E3005 ($79.99), may be the best yet. It accommodates the latest devices, with four USB-A ports, one USB-C port and integrated Qi Wireless Charging. You can charge a wide variety of gadgets with minimal wiring and just one A/C port.

Every year, our team of editors comb the far reaches of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to find the best new technology for iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch users. The following Best of CES 2019 Awards go to the most forward-thinking and useful iOS gear coming to market this year.

It's important to be careful when buying products from Indiegogo projects because they might be from fly-by-night companies or never see the light of day. But IntelliARMORis an established firm with lots of existing products, so when the company sent me a working version of its Scout Charger (starting at $25) I felt comfortable testing and reviewing it.

I had been considering using an old iPhone as a car dash cam, but when Autowit sent me its Front & Rear Dual Dash Camera Recorder Mirror ($69.99) I gave up on trying to make my own! It's much nicer to have a device that is purpose-built for recording. And the price makes it attractive. Plus there are features an iPhone or even other dash cams can't match.

Live from Las Vegas! Listen as David and Donna cover the top tech trends from the Consumer Electronics Show 2019 as well as share the winners of iPhone Life's Best of CES Awards to the best iOS gear they discovered on the show floor.

Having reviewed tech products for so many years, I may be one of the few contributing editors at iPhone Life to have spent considerable time with nearly every one of Phiaton's headphone product line. Just added to this list is Phiaton's Curve headset, one that culminates the company's audio expertise, design aesthetic and comfort into a noise-canceling, high battery capacity listening experience. How does the Curve($79) compare to the Phiaton headsets that have come before it? Read on to find out.

When the folks at Ashley Chloe wanted to send me their LUX True Wireless Headphones ($89.99) I wasn't sure, as a human male, that I was the right audience. They market the earbuds for women; but while women will certainly appreciate the attention, I found them to be quite suitable for men, too! The box says "Female Fit," which suggests that they work with smaller ears and don't interfere with earrings (which Apple's AirPods could.) But men could appreciate this as well. After all, once you remove the earbuds from their pink box, and select from the larger ear tips (three sizes are included), they work fine for men who may indeed have larger ears.

Pages

Featured Products

Keep your AirPods charged and protected with HyperJuice, the case with wireless charging compatibility by Hyper. This compact polycarbonate cover slips over your existing AirPods case, transforming it into a wireless case that works with any Qi charger of at least 5 watts (not included). Once you've put on the HyperJuice case, place your AirPods on any Qi charger of your choice. The HyperJuice is currently on sale at 60 percent off for an amazing retail value of only $19.99. So get hyped, and pick up your very own HyperJuice case today.

Seamlessly set up and manage all of your Apple devices with Jamf Now. This cloud-based mobile device management software allows you to remotely configure (everything from Wi-Fi settings to email accounts) all of the iPads, iPhone, and Mac computers at work or at home. But it doesn’t stop with setup. Use Jamf Now to maintain your team’s productivity, whether it be adding apps for a smoother workflow or protecting the security of important devices your team needs and uses every day. With Jamf Now, one person can do in a day what would take a small team of people a week. Set up, manage, and protect all your Apple devices with Jamf Now; get started for free today.